


Lessons in Literacy and Love

by sorrowandstaves (AmaranthPrincess21)



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Support Logs, but written as a fic, not like the script format
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2016-11-25
Packaged: 2018-09-02 02:48:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8648803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmaranthPrincess21/pseuds/sorrowandstaves
Summary: When Leo finds out that his maid Lo can't read, he takes it upon himself to teach her how.





	1. C-Support

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, this is adapted from the support logs I did of these two!

“Hm, where did I put that tome? I could have sworn I had Lo pack it,” Leo thought aloud as he picked through his books and tomes. In hindsight, he should have told his trusty maid to put the two in separate bags. Knocking on his door brought his attention away from his books.

“Milord, I brought you some tea and scones,” Lo’s voice drifted into his room. The door creaked open and she walked in, hands holding a silver platter. She only took two steps before her smile fell, green eyes surveying the mess Leo made. He felt a flash of guilt. “I don’t want to sound rude, but what the hell did you do to your room? It looks like a wild boar got loose in here.”

“I can’t find my Fimbulvetr tome. You packed it, right?” he asked her. She shrugged and put his food on the coffee table.

“Probably.”

“What do you mean, ‘probably?’” He always appreciated her ability to follow directions to a T and her blunt way of speaking, but right now it seemed she had failed and her straightforwardness grated his nerves

“Is it yellow with some fancy goldwork on the cover?” she inquired.

“No. It’s black with grey dots on it,” he replied.

“Then I didn’t pack it.” She offered him a sheepish grin.

“What? Why?!” he demanded. Lo flinched and cast her eyes to the ground. “I specifically asked you to pack it.”

“I’m sorry, Lord Leo. But in my defense, how could I pack something I don’t recognize?” she asked him, voice quiet.

“Because it says Fimbulvetr on the cover!” he retorted.

“Milord, I can’t read. That’s-” 

“What?! What do you mean, you can’t read?” Guilt flooded him as he stared at Lo, her face somber but eyes trained on him.

“It means I can’t read,” she said in a deadpan.

“I thought you worked for an aristocratic family before I took you in,” he said.

“They didn’t teach me academics. I only learned domestic arts,” she replied.

“That’s unacceptable. I can’t have a maid that can’t read. I’m excusing you from training and any other duties. Literacy is your top priority now.” He switched gears, moving around his room. Surely he had some spare paper and a quill and ink to write the alphabet.

“Lord Leo, I can’t just stop everything for this,” she told him.

“The hell you can’t. Sit down, Dolores. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”


	2. B-Support

Leo and Lo were holed up in his quarters, sitting shoulder to shoulder with a children’s book in front of them. The curtains were drawn but from the cracks Leo could see the dark sky outside. How long had they been here? Two hours, three? Perhaps after she was done reading this book he would let her go. Literacy was harder to teach than he thought and although Lo was a quick learner, the lessons were draining on the two of them.

“Okay, read this sentence,” he told her, flipping back to the first page of the storybook. Lo nodded and her fingers pulled at her chocolate hair, pulling it away from her face.

“The sat -”

“Cat. The  _ cat _ is on the mat,” he corrected her. 

“What?” Leo fought back a laugh as she leaned into the book, hands grabbing at the sides as she stared in disbelief. “Ugh! I hate this letter! Why does it have so many pronunciations?!”

“Don’t ask me. I’m not a linguist,” he teased her.

“This is bullshit,” she muttered, leaning back in her chair with her arms folded. She must have been tired. Lo had been his maid long enough for Leo to figure out her little ticks. Her folded arms and slight pout meant she was tired, and no doubt she was frustrated. 

“Keep reading,” he gently instructed her. Lo sighed and sat up straight.

“The cat is on the mat. The boy is… uh, playing with his toy. The dog is on a log.” She paused, eyes flitting to Leo. “Uh, milord? Can I ask you a question?”

“What is it?”

“Why do all these sentences rhyme?”

“It’s a children’s book. They all rhyme like this,” he explained.  _ Didn’t she have books read to her as a child? _ he wondered.

“That’s kind of patronizing. I don’t remember the stories that were read to me being so silly,” she told him.

“Really?”

“Yeah. When I was very young, we were always told stories like ‘girls don’t have sex until you’re married your body is sacred’ and ‘if you go near the river the Crying Woman will come and take your soul.’” 

“That’s ridiculous!” he laughed.

“The Crying Woman is real and I’ve seen her!” she retorted. Her face was lit up with indignation and it only made Leo want to laugh more. He’d never seen her so hellbent on something before. 

“So I guess the story didn’t resonate with you enough to stop you from breaking the rules?” he teased her.

“Don’t be ridiculous, I’ve always broken rules no matter how many times I’m warned not to do something.” She flashed him a grin. 

“I can’t say I’m surprised. You know… that habit of yours isn’t very safe, but I rather like it. You obey when you have to, but you do your own thing,” he admitted. Pink tinged her cheeks and immediately she looked away. 

“Uh, thank you, milord. To be honest, I thought you’d hate it,” she replied quietly.  

“I only hate it when you put yourself in danger. I know you’re capable but I don’t like having to worry over you,” he explained. Her blush deepened and for moment, Leo panicked that it’d make him blush as well.

“You worry about me?” she asked.

“Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?” he questioned.

“I don’t know! I just figured I was a servant only,” she admitted.

“Why on earth would you think that? Why do you think I have you stay and have tea with me? Why do you think I’m teaching you to read?” he demanded. She remained silent, eyes looking off to the side. “Dolores?” he added, softer. Why she thought this way was beyond him. While she was his maid, he liked to think of her as a loyal companion. A friend, even. 

“I thought… I thought you did this to keep tabs on me. I know I’m reckless. I know I’m dangerously stubborn. You know what I’ve done in the past to survive and I assumed those were your ways of keeping tabs on me,” she confessed, voice barely above a whisper and his heart broke. All this time, she thought he was doing this to keep her under his thumb?

“No, I don’t see any need to keep tabs on you like that. Believe or not, I like spending time with you. I like Odin and Niles a lot, but you keep up with me easier. And you’re nicer to look at,” he said.  

“Don’t tease me like that!” She was back to her fiery self, face redder than a tomato.

“I’m not,” he said with a straight face. Of course he thought she was incredibly pretty, scars and all, but teasing her was rather fun. Her green eyes darted away from him and she shifted back in her chair to face the book.  

“I-I-I uh, can we just get back to the lesson?” 

“Certainly, Lo,” he smirked. 


End file.
